If you’re a Head Start organization, then you know there are several reports and check-ins required throughout the year. One mandatory item is to complete an annual performance indicator report (PIR) which includes a comprehensive list of data related to programs and services. After pulling together all of the information necessary, how many Head Start…
Category Archives: Research & Analysis
4 Steps to Establish Evaluation SOPs
An evaluation plan is a roadmap to help organizations validate the impact of their work. In this past blog post, we describe our four-step evaluation process. Step 2 of this process involves creating or modifying data tools and systems. When establishing evaluation systems, it is important to create standard operating procedures, or SOPs. An SOP is a…
2019 Year in Review
This year was another big year for Transform Consulting Group. In 2019, we were thrilled to once again work with a variety of clients and important causes across Indiana and Michigan. We are thankful for all that we accomplished as a team to help accelerate the impact of our clients in communities across the two…
3 Tips For Managing Program Data
Do you have a system for effectively and efficiently storing and monitoring program data? At Transform Consulting Group, we work with many clients who are required to report on program outcomes and impact, but they often lack systematic approaches to managing their data. We know data can drive program impact (check out this blog), but…
Using Data to Tell Your Story
We say we’re #datanerds at Transform Consulting Group. However, for a communication and marketing person like myself, I will admit that data intimidates me. I prefer using words and emotions to convey ideas rather than numbers and excel sheets. So, how does that translate to our data-driven work at TCG? In Nancy Duarte’s book “Data…
Why Break Down Data?
When you’re using data to make decisions, are you also taking time to break down data to learn more? Perhaps you are struggling to understand the needs of different parts of the population you serve. Maybe you’re noticing different outcomes in different groups but don’t know why. When you break down data, you can see…
How A Needs Assessment Can Support Your Head Start Program
Most organizations that receive federal or state funding and even private funding are required to complete some type of needs assessment. This might be part of their grant application or annual program update. The purpose of the needs assessment (which we talk more about here and here) is to help organizations align their services to meet…
4 Steps to Complete a Feasibility Study
Too often non-profits and government agencies immediately begin implementing a new program or service area. They see a need with their clients or a gap in the existing services, so they elect to help meet that need. This all sounds good, right? The challenge is that there has not been enough time to complete a…
Learn About Indiana’s Youngest Children with the 2019 ELAC Annual Report!
Indiana’s Early Learning Advisory Committee (ELAC) released its 2019 Annual Report. Each year, ELAC completes a needs assessment on the state’s early childhood education system and then recommends solutions. We want to share some quick highlights and key takeaways from this year’s needs assessment. ELAC focuses on ensuring early childhood education is accessible, high-quality, and…
Are You Data Literate?
Recently the TCG team participated in a data visualization challenge at the Indy Big Data Conference, and this experience has led me to writing a blog on data literacy. What is data literacy? Merriam Webster defines being literate as “having knowledge or competence”, and being competent with data is a foundational skill we all need…